Maelstrom of the Elemental Countries
by youngmark
Summary: It was finally time for the MAelstrom to return home. Reunions will be had and Akatsuki will be fought to protect the other Bijuu.
1. Chapter 1

**Well, this must be unexpected, right? I'm still working on Rosario Emerald, but I feel it will be a long one, so I decided to work on two stories to prevent myself from losing interest in the one story. One chapter of Rosario Emerald, followed by whichever story is my second one (because I'm certain Rosario Emerald will last longer, despite being already started).**

 **Anyways, here is the first chapter of the sequel a lot of you were waiting for.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Maelstrom of the Elemental Countries**

Naruto 'White Maelstrom' Uzumaki was doing paperwork at the police station. Work was at leisure, at best, since the 'Rahu incident' was over and done with. It had been a sour case, with the murder and light destruction the sentient Robo had caused in its altered form.

But since that case ended, Naruto knew he couldn't stay long. He needed to return to the Elemental Countries. Akatsuki had been after Kurama, the former Kyuubi, and would most certainly aim for the others.

Every night, he would meditate and look at the memories his predecessor had about his parents, Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze. The two were masters of Fuinjutsu and that was just fine with Naruto, because he thought the Sealing Art was the only way to return. He had clones studying Fuinjutsu while he continued his everyday life.

When Naruto told Marcia, his beloved, of what he would do, she insisted to come with him. It had been a small argument, at best. He was glad that she wanted to come along, but he warned her of the possibility that they may not be able to come back. She accepted it and kept insisting, so they stopped arguing.

" _This world is safe enough with Mira, Roy, Micheal and Harry."_ She had said back then.

Speaking of the bounty hunters, things went for the better for them. Michael, due to losing to no one but Naruto, became a very popular Commander. Whenever there was a problem too small for the police, people would call Steel Hearts for help. Harry had realized that working alone for Steel Hearts until Michael arrived made him too cocky for comfort. He started working harder and had a more professional, yet still laid-back attitude during work. Coincidentally, he got a raise, with all the new jobs Steel Hearts got. Imagine that.

Another major difference was that Naruto gave Marcia a 'mate mark', so to speak. He essentially gave her the ability to use chakra. If she was to accompany him, it was necessary. Marcia had been fine with the idea of a mate mark, as it meant the two of them only had each other as far as love was concerned, with no 'hussy' to take him away from her... Apparently, she was still sour over Isabella's constant flirting.

The Z leaders, outside of Sergei because he came back to the police force, had their memories erased. They were told that they would 'act' as 'characters' for the 'Z Museum'. Thanks to Sergei's reports, they were told what their 'characters' were like and did their work perfectly. Sergei had to act as well, since he used to be a part of the syndicate. Isabella, still the same minx as she was before, couldn't help but flirt with Naruto, which infuriated Marcia.

Every time they got back home, Naruto and Marcia went to a shared mindscape, thanks to the mate mark, and used Kurama's memories to train in using Bijuu chakra. Marcia was a quick learner, hell bent on not being a burden for her mate when they would go back to his world.

While doing the paperwork, Naruto felt the memories of one of his clones enter his head. They had finished it! The seal to go back was done! The seal worked like the Hiraishin, but the object would completely disintegrate, but to the dimensional travel. He would make two different objects for the trip, one for the Elemental Countries and one for Marcia's world, in case the time differences were small enough that they could come back for the people of this world. He would need to make a chakra beacon in this world, however. The Elemental Countries was full of chakra, which made returning there just about guaranteed.

* * *

 **The day after the discovery**

Naruto sighed. "Well, preparations are finished." He said as he held two kitchen knives in leather holsters. Marcia nodded. Both of them turned to the precious people of this world. All of them knew that if time there was much slower than here, they might not be able to come back to see them.

"Be careful over there." Mira said.

"If something happens to Marcia, not even time and space will prevent me from finding you." Sergei chuckled.

"Protect the people there like you protected the ones here, Captain Naruto!" Roy saluted.

"I hope your friends remember you, Naruto." Linda said.

"Good luck on your reunions." The Chief of police said.

"Don't hold back against those that stand in your way." Ernest said. He wasn't really friends with the two of them, but he came because they were important to his hunters.

"Don't hesitate when you get there. You've always been confident here, so this should be a breeze for you." Michael smirked.

"Give 'em hell!" Harry said.

Both of them nodded. "Alright, Marcia, you know the plan." Marcia nodded and they both transformed: Marcia in her Robo, Milky Way, and Naruto in Rahu's first form. This was a safety measure in case they came across the wrong people who knew Naruto before he left, like Akatsuki.

Naruto unsheated one of the knives, channelled chakra in the seal. Marcia placed her hands over his own.

" **Here goes nothing."** Marcia said as they disappeared in a flash.

* * *

" **What the hell?"** Naruto said as he looked around the void.

" **Where are we?"** Marcia asked.

"A slight detour that I caused." Naruto heard a familiar voice...familiar to Kurama.

He turned around and found an old man with horns on his forehead and rippled eyes.

" **Old man Hagoromo."** Naruto realized.

Hagoromo, the Rikudo Sennin nodded. "It is good to meet you, Reincarnation of Asura."

Naruto's eyes widened. Him? The reincarnation of Asura?

"I had felt your clone's return and waited for your own. I had not expected you to bring someone along."

Naruto turned to Marcia and smiled. **"She means the world to me."** Her face was masked, but he knew she was smiling back.

Hagoromo smiled. "I'm glad to know you found someone like that. But I must ask, why return?"

" **Because of what Akatsuki is trying to do. They were hunting me down to get Kurama, and could aim for the others."**

Hagoromo nodded. "Yes. They aim to bring the Shinju back."

" **And undo everything you've done!?"** Naruto exclaimed. **"I have Kurama's knowledge of the Shinju, I know what it can do!"**

Hagoromo closed his eyes. "I had felt it...What happened to Kurama when you fought Indra's reincarnation."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Sasuke was Indra's reincarnation? That made so much sense...

"However..." Hagoromo floated toward Naruto and pressed a hand on his armor. It disappeared and the Robo Cube appeared in Hagoromo's hand.

"How did you...?"Naruto trailed off.

Hagoromo pressed the cube against Naruto and it disappeared in his body.

A pulse went through his body and he felt it.

Naruto looked at Hagoromo with wide eyes.

"Take a moment." Hagoromo requested. "I will take you where you are needed when you are done."

Naruto nodded and turned to Marcia, who dispelled her armor.

"What are we doing?" She asked.

"Visiting someone." Naruto said before he grabbed her hands and started meditating.

* * *

The two of them opened their eyes and were greeted with the sight of a giant fox, curled down.

"It's been a while, Kurama." Naruto said.

Kurama opened a lone eye and looked at the duo. **"To you, maybe.** **Just because I have the memories of our time as one being doesn't mean I have been self-aware for all those years."**

"I suppose not..." Naruto said. "What do you think?"

" **I have no intention of letting anyone destroy what the old man accomplished. I'll work with you to stop them."**

"Glad to hear it." Naruto nodded before he realized something. "...Now that you're back, can I still use the Robo forms?"

Kurama smirked. **"The chakra shroud worked in similar manners. Your body can also handle my chakra now, so we can work in tandem, if we want to."**

"That had always been a problem back then, huh?" Naruto muttered.

"Um..." Naruto and Kurama turned to Marcia. "What about the mate mark?"

" **It connects you to me and gave you Bijuu chakra. As far as symbolism go, you are mates in mind and body, and that should be enough."**

Marcia nodded.

Naruto smiled. "It was a nice reunion. Let's do our best to stop Akatsuki."

Kurama closed his eye.

* * *

Naruto and Marcia opened their eyes when they left the mindscape.

"I am relieved it went well." Hagoromo said.

"I am too." Naruto said. "Kurama and I weren't on the best of terms back then."

"With his memories, you have come to understand him. With the memories of your time merged together, he has seen you from another angle." Hagoromo said. "But you already knew that. Now, you must help Shukaku's vessel."

That immediately got Naruto's attention. "Gaara?"

Hagoromo nodded. "Two members of Akatsuki have captured him."

Naruto's eyes became red with slit pupils.

"Fortunately, your former team is preventing their escape."

Naruto sighed in relief. It was good that his friends were there to help. Naruto blinked. His friends...?

" _ **That reminds me."**_ Kurama's voice echoed in Naruto and Marcia's head. **_"My blatant hatred of humans may have made you emphasize your more negative moments in your past."_**

" _Like Kakashi's laziness and Jiraiya's less than stellar teaching..."_ Naruto realized. Or Sakura's violent responses...

"I will take you to the battle." Hagoromo said. "Are you ready?"

"Almost." Naruto said. "I just had an idea."

* * *

In the desert of Kaze no Kuni, before the entrance of Sunagakure, a battle was taking place. On one side stood two men, one with a hunched back and a blond man standing on a flying white bird, which held Sabaku no Gaara in its beak. Both of them wore the black cloaks with red cloud. On the other side, stood Naruto's former team, along with a pale-skinned boy, and Gaara's siblings.

The battle was interrupted when they all felt a pulse of chakra. A bright flash blinded them all for a moment before they heard a mighty roar. Their eyes widened when they saw the source.

"The Kyuubi..." Kakashi said, fearful of its wrath.

They also noticed the blue, armored, feminine figure atop the fox's head.

Kurama looked at the Konoha-Suna group for a moment before turning to the Akatsuki duo. He scowled when he saw Gaara.

" **Shukaku!"** He roared. **"Are you going to let these humans undo Old man Rikudo's work!?"**

Sand from the very desert itself shot up to Gaara, forcing the blond on the avian to jump away as the sand engulfed it.

"Katsu!" The blond said before the avian inside sand exploded.

"Deidara, you idiot!" The hunchback called out. "Are you trying to kill the Jinchuuriki!?"

Deidara's eyes widened. In his reaction to the attack, he hadn't thought about that.

However, the sand never stopped gathering. Eventually, it became a giant Tanuki.

Shukaku turned to Kurama. **"I don't need your help, Bakagitsune!"**

" **Then why did you wait until I called you out to do anything?"** Kurama countered.

Deidara clicked his tongue. "I hate to admit it, but this is out of our league, Sasori-no-Danna."

Kankuro's eyes widened. Akasuna no Sasori!?

"Hmph." Sasori grunted. "We would have been away from here if you hadn't taken your time with the Jinchuuriki."

"Hey, I gotta show off my art!" Deidara argued before he put more clay in the mouths on his hands and created another avian. "I'll blow them all up!" he got on its back and took to the air.

" **Ah, then I'll give chase!"** Marcia jumped and dashed towards the bird. Being in an Aerial Beauty form, she could jump as many times as she wanted, provided she had chakra.

" **Hmph, so she picked her target."** Kurama said before glancing at Sasori. **"Well, this one's yours."**

To everyone's confusion, Kurama started shrinking and shifting. He became human-sized and more machine-like, with metal claws.

" **Here I go!"** The voice was distinctively different. It sounded almost familiar to Team 7, but the tone of it was unfamiliar and distorted.

Naruto charged at Sasori, who tried to attack him with his bone-like tail. Naruto dodged and swiped with his claws. The hunchback shattered into wooden splinters and a red-haired man jumped out.

"Impressive… You're the first to break Hiruko." Sasori said as he took out a storage scroll and unsealed a black-haired puppet. "You will make an excellent puppet, once I've dealt with you. You are no match for the Iron Sand!" The puppet's mouth opened and black sand shot out, aiming for Naruto.

Kakashi and the sand siblings were shocked. The Sandaime Kazekage's Iron Sand!?

Naruto's right arm switched to the sniper. He shot a bullet, which pierced through the Iron Sand and destroyed the puppet Sandaime. The shinobi were surprised at the power and speed of the attack.

Sasori was infuriated. He took off his cloak and unsealed over a hundred puppets. "You will pay for destroying my art…"

Naruto's right arm shifted into Rahu III's gun. **"Oh, you are just making this easy for me!"** He shot a bullet to a puppet, which dodged, but the bullet split into many more bullets and all went in different directions, destroying a couple of puppets.

"You little…!" Sasori sent dozens of puppets after Naruto, who switched to the flame gun and spun around while shooting flames, burning the puppets to the ground.

"Its ability to adapt to the situation is amazing… Danzo-sama will want to know about this." The pale-skinned Konoha nin thought.

* * *

Deidara was starting to getting worried. Sasori never used those puppets unless he went all out, and that didn't seem to help against this thing.

Suddenly, Marcia landed on the bird's head.

" **Hi!"** She said before shooting the bird's neck with the magnum gun. The head ripped off from the body.

* * *

Sasori was beyond pissed. Naruto destroyed _all_ of his puppets, except the one where he stocked his 'life'.

" **That was a smart move to have a decoy act as you… However, it did little against me."** Naruto taunted as he charged Sasori's last body.

" _This wasn't supposed to be! My art is eternal!"_ Sasori thought.

Naruto struck Sasori's torso with the Knuckle gun, effectively destroying it.

"So… it seems I have been defeated…" Sasori said quietly. "Tell this to the Konoha nin… I have a spy that is supposed to meet me in Grass Country. Tell them to meet him if they want info on Orochimaru…"

" **Which Jinchuuriki have you and your group caught?"**

"...Only the Gobi and Nanabi." Rahu nodded and stomped Sasori's 'heart'.

" _I gotta get outta here!"_ Deidara thought as he got up from his fall. Before he could even move, Marcia had the stun gun to his neck and effectively shocked him.

Deidara fell down, twitching every now and then.

" **Ouch… That was a bit brutal."** Naruto said as he approached Milky Way.

" **If I wanted to be brutal, I would've aimed for** **his** **balls."** Every male winced.

" **Point taken…"**

"You won't…get…away…" Deidara said weakly. "I will…destroy you with…one final…atta-" Naruto stomped his head.

" **No… You won't."**

The Konoha and Suna nin approached them.

"Thank you for saving my brother." Temari said.

" **Hmph!"** Shukaku huffed. **"We didn't need the fox's help!"**

Naruto chuckled. **"All he did was wake you up!"**

"He?" Sasuke asked. "Aren't _you_ the Kyuubi?"

" **Hey now, my voice is not that different, is it?"** Naruto asked.

" **You're in your twenties, now."** Marcia reminded.

" **Oh yeah."** Naruto realized before he took a good look at the group. **"It's probably been about 2 or 3 years for them. Wow, that's a significant difference."**

The Konoha-Suna group became confused.

The Kurama Armor disappeared and revealed his appearance. The whole group, except the pale-skinned boy, was shocked.

"N-Naruto!?" Sakura exclaimed in shock.

"Hey." Naruto waved in greeting. He was amused by their shock. Kakashi's especially, as he knew he looked like his father and Kakashi's sensei, the Yondaime Hokage.

"What happened to you?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto shrugged. "The damage you did to the seal, along with the fox's chakra, made a messed-up Jikukan-Ninjutsu. I ended up in a whole other world."

" **Despite it being the result of a battle, I'm glad it happened."** Marcia stood next to Naruto.

"And you are?" Sakura asked.

The Milky Way armor disappeared and revealed a cyan-haired girl wearing a white skirt and shirt. Her cyan hair reached down to her ankles. "I'm Marcia, Naruto's girlfriend."

"Girlfriend!?" The whole group, sans the pale boy, exclaimed in shock.

"Oi, what's so shocking about that?" Naruto asked indignantly.

"Seems like you've been doing fine." Sasuke smirked.

Naruto smiled. "And what about you? Still a Konoha Shinobi, huh?"

"Kakashi found me after you knocked me out." Sasuke said. "I...learned some things and didn't try leaving again. It took a while, but I managed to remain a shinobi."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"It's good to see you again, Naruto." Kakashi said.

Naruto grinned. "It's a blast from the past for me!"

* * *

 **Amegakure**

"What!? Sasori and Deidara were killed!?" A ripple-eyed man said.

A plant-man, with the right half of his body white and the other half black, nodded.

"Yes, Leader-sama. **Those things came out of nowhere** and destroyed them without breaking a sweat. **Luckily, we recovered the rings."**

Kisame Hoshigaki's hologram smirked. "That transformation thing he can do must cost a lot of chakra… Can I chase them?"

'Leader-sama' shook his head. "Hidan, Kakuzu, keep to the plan. Itachi, Kisame, head for Kiri and capture the Sanbi." Both groups nodded and their holograms disappeared.

"This throws a wrench into our plans." The blue-haired woman next to the ripple-eyed man said while a man with a swirled mask was silent.

The leader shook his head. "They caught Deidara and Sasori by surprise. If they get in our way again, I will deal with them. They will know the power of the god, Pein!"

"There's something else." The plant-man said.

"What is it, Zetsu?" Pein asked.

" **The culprit was Naruto Uzumaki."**

Pein's eyes widened. "So…The Kyuubi is back. Keep an eye on them."

Zetsu nodded and fazed through the floor.

The masked man was deep in thought. _"You cannot escape me now, Kyuubi… You will be under my control soon enough."_


	2. Chapter 2

**About time I got this thing going. I'm sorry, but the chapter is only 1.5k long without the Author's notes.**

 **I'll be honest, I have a hard time writing this story. I don't plan giving up, but it won't be a regular thing from now on. I'll take my time with this one while working on my other stories. Any suggestions intent on helping this story will be greatly appreciated and may make the future chapters come by that much faster. Speaking of which...**

 **HaseoUzumakiNamikaze: Cheers for the ideas. If you have any more, it would be a great help.**

 **METALHELLSPAWN: Thank you for enjoying the story.**

 **Anyways, the current schedule for now will be: updating Rosario Emerald a few times before starting Shinobi's Lament's sequel.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Naruto and the gang were jumping from tree to tree towards Konoha. Marcia, due to her lack of Shinobi Training, required her armor to keep up.

"How has everyone been doing since then?" Naruto asked.

"Our whole age group became Chunin." Sakura answered. "Neji even made Jonin."

"No surprise there." Naruto chuckled.

"What about you?" Sasuke asked.

"I became a Chief of Police." Naruto grinned.

Sakura put her hands on her lips and held back a laugh. "You? Chief of Police?"

"Surprising, I know." Naruto shrugged. "But a lot happened since that battle."

" **I'll say!"** A high-pitched voice shrilled inside Naruto's head. **"If you managed to make the stupid fox believe in you, I can't even imagine what you did!"**

" _It was all in circumstances, Shukaku."_ Naruto thought before he reminisced on his reunion with Gaara.

 **Flashback**

" _Naruto Uzumaki..." Gaara said in shock._

" _It's been a while, Gaara." Naruto smiled. The redhead was much calmer than back during the Chunin Exams and it was good to see._

" _I am glad that you have returned." Gaara said. "I owe what I have become to you."_

" _So I heard." Naruto held out a hand. "Congratulations on becoming Kazekage."_

 _Gaara shook hands with Naruto. After a blink, they were in a grey void._

" _Huh?" Gaara looked around. Outside of themselves, Shukaku and Kurama were there._

" _ **We need to talk."**_ _Kurama said._

" _ **I loathe to admit it."**_ _Shukaku said._ _ **"But you said something about to humans undoing Old Man Rikudo's work."**_

" _As I came back to the Elemental Countries, I met the Sage." Naruto said. "He told me Akatsuki seeks to bring back the Juubi."_

" _ **WHAT!?"**_ _Shukaku shrilled._ _ **"Do they even understand what they**_ _ **'re**_ _ **doing!?"**_

 _Kurama scoffed._ _ **"If they did, they wouldn't have followed through with this idiocy."**_

" _What is this Juubi?" Gaara asked._

" _The original form of the Bijuu when they were a single being." Gaara turned to Naruto with wide eyes. "That thing is a mindless beast hell-bent on taking all of the world's chakra."_

" _ **And can effortlessly bring about worldly disasters."**_ _Kurama chimed in._ _ **"We cannot allow this thing to come back. Unfortunately, Kokuo and Chomei have already been captured."**_

 _Shukaku growled._ _ **"These bastards! How do we stop them!?"**_

" _We don't know where Akatsuki is stationed. For now, the next step will be going to Kumo and find Matatabi."_

" _ **We should also get the help of each of the Bijuu."**_ _Kurama said._

" _Huh?" Naruto turned to Kurama._

" _ **What are you saying?"**_ _Shukaku asked._

 _Kurama turned his gaze to Shukaku._ _ **"I'm certain that Naruto is the one Old Man Rikudo was talking about."**_

 _Naruto's eyes widened. "You mean..."_

 _Shukaku lowered his head toward Naruto._ _ **"The blue-eyed youth that would unite all nine of us... How can you be so sure?"**_

 _Kurama smirked._ _ **"He has proven multiple times that**_ _ **he**_ _ **can get the job done when he wants to."**_

" _ **Is that**_ **pride** _ **I hear in your voice? You actually feel pride for someone else?"**_ _Shukaku turned his gaze back to Naruto._ _ **"He really must be special... Fine."**_ _Shukaku held out a fist._ _ **"I'll lend you some of my chakra. You better make good use of it."**_

 _Naruto, still shocked over Kurama's claims, bumped fists with Shukaku._

 _ **Flashback end**_

Just as Naruto stopped reminiscing, a figure landed before the group, causing them to stop.

"How did it-" The figure stopped himself as he noticed the new members of the group. "Naruto!?"

Naruto grinned. "Yo, Pervy Sage!"

Unsurprisingly, Jiraiya hadn't changed in 3 years.

"Where have you been?"

"Somewhere way too far, distance-wise." Naruto shrugged.

"That doesn't tell me a lot." Jiraiya commented. He then noticed Milky Way. "What's this metal puppet?"

" **It's an armor."** Marcia said, making Jiraiya jump in surprise.

Jiraiya recovered from his shock and then examined the armor. "...Is it accurate to your sizes?"

Jiraiya suddenly felt the branch beneath his feet fall before following soon after. He fell faster than the branch and crashed on the ground, with the branch falling on his head.

Naruto chuckled as his right arm returned from Kurama form to human form. "She's taken, Pervy Sage!"

Jiraiya merely raised a hand and gave a thumbs-up. Odds are, he approved of Naruto's choice in women.

* * *

Naruto took a deep breath after they all entered the village. "Ahhh... It's good to be back."

Jiraiya put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Welcome back."

"It looks very nice." Marcia smiled, standing next to Naruto.

When she dispelled her armor earlier, Jiraiya gave Naruto another thumbs-up.

"Well, we should report to Lady Tsunade." Kakashi said. "You will be coming with us, obviously."

"Yeah, I expected that." Naruto said. "It will be nice to see her again."

Kakashi and Sakura walked to the Hokage Tower, alongside with Naruto. Although, that Naruto was a Shadow Clone.

The real Naruto, on the other hand, insisted on showing a place to Marcia.

* * *

"Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen!" A female voice welcomed the customers she heard enter, her back facing the entrance.

"Ayame." Ayame Ichiraku stopped herself in shock as she recognized the voice.

She quickly turned around. Tears were threatening to fall as she saw the whiskered face.

"Naruto..." She whispered. "It's really you!" She ran around the counter and hugged him. "Father, Naruto's back!"

"Naruto!?" Teuchi ran out of the back not a moment later.

"Hey old man." Naruto smiled.

"It really is you..." Teuchi muttered. "Sit down, sit down! First bowl's on the house!"

Naruto, of course, took the seat. It was only when Marcia took the adjacent seat that the father-daughter duo noticed her.

"Who's this?" Ayame asked as she returned behind the counter.

"Her name's Marcia." Naruto introduced. "She's my girlfriend."

Ayame's eyes lit up. "A girlfriend!? Congratulations!"

"All right, spill it." Teuchi said as he prepared some noodles. "What happened to you?"

"Some weird stuff, even by shinobi standards." Naruto said. "I ended up in a foreign town and made a first impression by saving Marcia from some Orochimaru-minded bastards."

Marcia raised an eyebrow at Naruto. The scientists wanted to experiment only on her, no one else. They were nothing like Orochimaru, as far as what Naruto told her of the snake-man.

Ayame gasped. "How horrible!"

"Attaboy, don't leave a girl in danger." Teuchi said as he placed a bowl in front of Naruto. "Here, some Miso ramen."

"You're the best, old man." Naruto took some chopsticks.

"What will you be having?" Ayame asked Marcia.

"I'll try the Vegetable ramen." Marcia said.

"Coming right up!"

Teuchi leaned against the counter. "It's time to talk about the elephant in the room. You look more than simply 3 years older."

" _That's_ where things get weird." Naruto sighed.

Marcia smiled as she saw Naruto chat and catch up with two of the most precious people of his life. She also saw how he enjoyed the ramen here way more than the one in Daimon. As she saw his enthusiastic chatter, she realized that it wasn't only the noodles that he loved, but those who cooked it as well.

"So..." Marcia turned to a smiling Ayame. "How's life with Naruto?"

Marcia smiled. "I owe so much to Naruto. I had...trust issues because I was bullied, but the adults never were mean to me. If Naruto hadn't saved me, that little comfort would have been broken. I don't know if I could have trusted anyone if those men had taken me away."

Ayame nodded as she leaned against the counter. "Naruto does have a tendency to change people's lives. Did he tell you about Nami no Kuni?"

"And Haku and Zabuza." Marcia confirmed. "If only Haku was still alive. I would have loved to thank him for teaching Naruto an important lesson."

Ayame giggled. "Did you know they named the bridge after Naruto?"

"Wait, they did!?" Naruto exclaimed as he heard her. "When did they do that!?"

"According to the merchants from there, just as you were leaving." Teuchi said. "They named it 'The Great Naruto Bridge'."

Naruto looked down at his bowl. Had he really made that big of an impression?

Naruto's eye twitched. "Well, Tsunade bashed my clone's skull."

Teuchi chuckled. "Sounds like you better hurry."

"Yeah..." Naruto sighed before he pulled out a wallet. Thankfully, his savings were still in his apartment when he went to check. It would have been a different story if he had brought it along to retrieve Sasuke.

* * *

A tick mark appeared on Tsunade's forehead as the Shadow Clone dispelled. "He didn't even come here himself..."

"I didn't even see him make the clone..." Sakura deadpanned.

Kakashi chuckled. "What a way to have a reunion."

"Sorry about that." Naruto said as he landed outside one of the windows of Tsunade's office, taking his clone's earlier spot. "I wanted to introduce my girlfriend to Teuchi and Ayame."

" **Nice to meet you."** Marcia greeted Tsunade.

Tsunade nodded with a smile. "Yes, nice to meet you as well." She then turned to Naruto with narrowed. "And _you_ have a lot to explain."

Naruto sighed. She not only meant where he had been all this time, but also the last thing his clone said, which was what made her punch its skull.

"It's as I said, I won't return to the shinobi ranks yet."

* * *

 **Yep, Naruto's not coming back to the ranks of Konoha yet. He makes a greater priority of his fellow Jinchuuriki.**

 **If this chapter gave you any ideas of how the story could go, any help will be appreciated.**

 **One last thing: to those who read Shinobi's Lament. I updated my profile with the requests of the future sequels of that series. Please read and give me your thoughts in a review (Preferably on Shinobi's Lament, as that's the subject.)**


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